About Me

Kristin McKinley is an Online Media & Communications Specialist, and
founder of the blog Born 2 Be Mom. She has a background in
Communications and studied at the University of Western Sydney,
Australia. Kristin is a busy, work at home Mom of two young kids; A
daughter born in 2008 and a son born in 2011. She blogs regularly about
life as a parent, and provides other Moms and Dads with family friendly
product reviews, giveaways and a variety of parenting resources.

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20.2.10

It seems like time is flying by! Honestly, considering this will VERY most likely be my last pregnancy - I'm trying to enjoy all of it. It feels like just yesterday I was at that ultrasound seeing those 2 tiny little bodies growing inside of me. Unreal. After work is finished, I think everything will probably slow down a little bit - I'll be less rushed, have more time to just relax and prepare for the birth of my twins.

I was looking in DD's room this morning trying to figure out how to squeeze two cribs in and what not! For the first while, I'm going to have DD share her room with the twins. This is really not ideal, but I'm not ready to move her to her big girl room yet - it's in the basement. While it's brand new, and does have a nice large window b/c we're in a bi-level I just am not comfortable with leaving her downstairs alone - she's too young, and I'd be getting up at night still hauling my exhausted bottom downstairs every time she wakes up crying. I would have no problem hearing her, since the room is right beneath ours. Anyway, we'll make due. Room sharing is not unheard of, and we can't afford a bigger house yet!

I've made a few purchases for the wee ones. We got a Duoglider double stroller (I've already mentioned this) and a couple of weeks ago I bought a green Sleepy Wrap. There will be lots of times, I am sure, where Kevin or I will be carrying one twin, while the other and Danica share the stroller. I also bought this nursing cover - as they had a Facebook promo, so I got it for only $30 w/ free shipping! I had an older style nursing cover given to me when Danica was born, but it was much smaller and shorter - not to mention just kind of ugly, lol. This should make nursing that much easier when and if we ever set foot out of the house again, heh. Even in the hospital when we have visitors, honestly, some people just don't take the cue "looks like she's getting hungry......" and I found that SO awkward with DD, particularly because we were just starting out with breastfeeding for our first time ever! Contrary to popular belief, it's not a piece of cake when you're starting out, and a lot of times people just don't realize it. So that's that. Now all I really need to collect are some new baby facecloths and towels, a few extra crib sheets, a 2nd bouncy seat and a twins nursing pillow. Oh! And another car seat, and possibly another one on top of that if DD's is too big to fit them all in the back seat of our trusty old Lumina. (That's a challenge in and of itself - don't even get me started.) Phew!! I think that's it.

Anyway, I don't have much planned for this Saturday aside from washing the kitchen floor and vaccuming the living room. After that, I'm just going to take it easy. We may head to Superstore as they have sales on toddler pottys and infant car seats. Kevin has REALLY crappy hours today, he's working from about 8pm until 4am. I hate his night shifts, they're so brutal. It's not that I can't sleep when he isn't here, it's that I wake up when he gets in and can't fall BACK to sleep! He's super quiet, but I'm a very light sleeper.

10.2.10

Insomnia is not my friend. Over the years I've come to meet several people who suffer from insomnia, and I thought to myself "what's the big deal? Read a book until you get bored. Falling asleep shouldn't be impossible, count sheep, for Pete's sake." Well, friends... Karma likes to roll my way every now and then and learn me a thing or two. The last couple of weeks have been completely unpredictable. Between my 16 month old who's getting a number of new teeth in, the fact that I'm getting up to pee every few hours (then drinking more water and subsequently getting up to pee again) and the fact that I've recently discovered what pregnancy insomnia is really all about - I am one cranky woman come morning. And my poor daughter, my husband and my daycare kids are all suffering for it.

DH used to say to me "I can't wait until you're pregnant again." It was lovely to hear him say it, but I knew it'd be short lived once the first trimester came knocking with a vengeance - and, of course, it did. I've finally had a little relief from the morning sickness, which in itself tampers with my overall mood and well being. Then along came second trimester. Since late January the headaches, insomnia and ridiculous, over the top mood swings have kicked in! The poor man. On an average, non-pregnant day I am known to cry watching Oprah or reading books or even looking at beautiful artwork or photography. On a pregnant day - I'll cry because we've run out of orange juice and I really, really wanted some. And then, most of the time, I'll laugh at myself while still crying and he just sits there shaking his head at this person he married - who USED to be relatively sane! Well, now what? Unfortunately, there's not much I can do. So I carry on and eventually remind him that he's stuck with me, he wanted these babies and thanks for not bailing on me when I burn my toast/drop an egg/miss my favorite TV show/see pictures of baby animals.

So having said all of that, I'm just not sure how to handle my daily responsibilities. This pregnancy is very different from my last, in that I'm so drained of energy. When the kids don't nap in the afternoon, I'm an absolute wreck come "home time" at 5:30pm. And after that comes making a wholesome dinner for myself, my growing little ones, my daughter (who has got to be the most finicky child on the planet) and DH. Most days I'd rather order pizza - but where is one to find the extra cash to order pizza when one is expecting twins? Humm. Thank goodness for slow cookers.

8.2.10

The little ones were really moving this morning! I love that reassurance. I feel, at least for now, like everything is going smoothly. My next doctor's appointment is next week and then it's on to the OB/GYN until the twins are born. I'll be interested to see what his entire take on this pregnancy is, given I've already been told it's particularly high risk. I'm trying not to worry, or focus on the scary stuff. I have far too many other positive things to think about!

DD said "babies" yesterday for the first time. It was wonderful to hear that word come from her mouth - she's learning so many new things every day. I like to take her to the fridge where we (like so many other parents-to-be) have the ultrasound pic posted up, and point to the babies. She points and gets excited now, too. It's funny though - clearly she has no idea what's coming. I can sit with her and play with her twin baby dolls for hours, but it will never completely prepare her for the arrival of our twins. For the first time in her life, she'll be sharing us. It's going to be a tough adjustment for us all.

I've added links and buttons - some are for giveaways and reviews, some are Mom related... These are blogs I visit fairly frequently. Soon I'll be telling friends and family about my little place here on the web. It'll be nice to share my experiences with everyone! Until then, well, I just want to tinker around until its to my satisfaction. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

4.2.10

I've finally been feeling my little beans kick a wee bit! It's very reassuring to know they're doing OK in there - but I look forward to the day when the movements are a bit more obvious. Having spoken to some other twin pregnancy mommies, I know I'm not alone in having moments of panic. Why haven't I felt them yet today? What's that weird pain in -insert random part of abdomen here- and do I need to worry? My feet are swelling up sometimes already. I'm on them a fair bit, chasing after my 3 toddlers all day. I don't remember swelling up this much with DD so early, but suffice it to say everything is different this time around. Different, and so awesome at the same time.

I've been collecting some things for the twins impending arrival. We purchased a Graco Duoglider double stroller, and I bought a Sleepy Wrap infant wrap carrier. I've heard nothing but great things about these, and since it will allow me (at least for the first couple of months) to carry both twins at once, I'm excited to give it a try! They also come highly recommended for kangaroo care. Being so close to Mommy means lots of warm snuggles and security for the little ones.

Next up on the to do list is to prepare meals and freeze them. If I get stuck on bed rest, I certainly don't want to leave the cooking to DH (aka: the king of chicken burgers and fries. Yikes!) So I think what I'll do is head to the store and pick up everything I need for lasagna, chile, soup, enchiladas, mexican casseroles, etc. and have them ready to go. If DH can throw fries in the oven, then he can throw a casserole in just the same! Have any recipe suggestions? Send them my way!